Mage's Willpower
by ShadowBasher
Summary: Finally getting all her recommendations, Brittany Marrison is prepared to show herself worthy as being a mage, even though she's a Nord. But will the outbreak of Necromancy be too much for her? Rated T, but may jump later to M.
1. The Beginning of a New Quest

"Alright! I finally got my last recommendation! I can finally get into the Arcane University!" a young Nord woman cheered, raising her fist into the air.

She ran out of the Bravil Mages Guild Hall excitedly, then came to a stop in the middle of the wooden bridge over the lonely stream in the village, the midday sun peeking through the overcast sky. She was a tall, slender woman, her bright blonde hair pulled back into a shoulder-length ponytail with a silk pink ribbon tie. Baby blue eyes sparkled with glare and shine as the sun shone itself. Her complexion made her look as young as seventeen, where in actuality she was really twenty. However, being as a Nord, she was to try and act as a Nord. According to lore, Nords were to be great warriors, man or woman, that were able to wield claymores like sticks and foes were to tremble in fear of them.

On the other hand, though, this Nord had a passion for the magical arts. The ability to actually harness mystical energy with the intent to protect and provide for the better good was fascinating to her. The natives of her homeland used to make fun of her. "Magic is for the weak!" some would say. "Only the power of the blade is what makes a true warrior!"

Yet, she paid no attention to their insults. Instead, once her family moved to the province of Morrowind while she was in her mid-teens, she took up what little training she got from the local guild halls before they packed up yet again and set out to Cyrodiil, to the province of Leyawiin. Now she was close to being 20-years-old. When she arrived at Leyawiin, she was overjoyed to find the local guild hall of Mages nearby her home. Once she finished unpacking her things in her room, she eagerly ran outside to check it out. Opening up the guild hall doors that lead into the lobby area of the guild, she was amazed to find many other aspiring mages such as herself, conversing, practicing, dueling, all sorts of things. It was all overwhelming to her! Everywhere she looked, there were mages practicing different spells like Soul Trapping and Telekinesis. She got so caught up with what was around her she practically never noticed the Wood Elf she ran into, both of them falling to the ground. _"Ow...Uh oh...I'm gonna be in trouble..."_ she thought, as she looked over to the fallen woman who had gotten herself back up rather quickly and looked down to her.

The Nord bolted up to her feet and quickly bowed. "My apologies! Please, I didn't mean to."

The Wood Elf just smiled, raising the bowing citizen erect, standing her up straight. "It is alright, child. I know it looks overwhelming to see all sorts of ways to harness the magical aspect of nature. Do you like all that you see?"

She nodded her head quickly, smiling brightly. "Yes, very much so! I've always wanted to be a mage! I started a bit in Balmora in Morrowind, and when my family moved here, I saw this place and hurried over! I would like to continue my studies within the Mages Guild."

"Ah yes, that's great. Welcome to Cyrodiil, re..."

"Brittany. Brittany Marrison. Nord." she introduced, bowing once more for respect, her ponytail draping against the back of her neck.

"Brittany? Such a pretty name for an up-n-coming Mage. I am Dagail, head of the Leyawiin Mages Guild. Welcome." She replied with a pleasing grin.

That was about a few months ago, nearing the end of the Oblivion Crisis, as all the locals called it. You see, those were very dark times. The latest emperor, Uriel Septim VII, was killed by a cult named the Mythic Dawn, followers of the Daedric Lord Mehrunes Dagon. The land was plagued by creatures from the world of Oblivion, gates opening outside heavily fortified cities and unsuspecting settlements, all of which were becoming exhausted by the sheer numbers the creatures traveled in. Brittany found herself in the middle of the crisis once while working on completing her task from the head mage in Skingrad. She was given a task of locating a lost Associate, the lowest rank in the guild. His name was Erthor, and after talking to her guild mates within the hall, she found out he was held up in Bleak Flats Cave, about a few minutes north of Skingrad. However, so was another Oblivion gate just about a few yards away. Making her way there, she noticed the skies turning red with anger, lightning cracking to and fro within the midst of the blood red clouds. She stopped in place to wonder how such a thing happened; this was very strange to her, as it never happened to her this phenomenon. Being distracted, she took no note of the lurking scamps nearby, who immediately ambushed her. They blocked her entrance to the cave, her only place for refuge. Two casted fire at her, but she dodged them quickly. However, another charged into her, jabbing its elbow into her stomach. Bending over due to the pain, she fell to her side and they all converged onto her, tearing into her elegant velvet outfit of blue, her favorite one at best, too. She knew it looked like it was over, until an arrow pierced one of the scamps through the body, pinning it against the cave door. The other two scamps looked up to eye the attacker. Brittany did the same, however was limited in her movements. She saw a young female Imperialist, close to her age, her hair a striking violet color, loosely combed and draping over her shoulders then onto her cuirass, which bore the insignia of Kvatch. She readied another arrow and fired again at the scamp closest to Brittany, having it fall down dead next to the fallen mage. Brittany took a closer look at the arrow; it was of an elegant and luxurious material. _"Probably ebony..."_ she thought, as the last scamp charged in to attack the Imperial.

Undeterred, she readied another ebony arrow, aimed, and fired it towards the last creature. It shrieked with terror, slashing at the girl, leaving scratches on the breastplate. "You're a persistent bugger..." she said, taking out a dagger, with a blade made entirely our of a greenish-like glass, and stabbing it into the chest. It fell without life. She holstered it back, along with her bow, and walked up towards Brittany, kneeling down to her. "Hey, you alright there?" she asked, tilting her head a bit.

"A little, I think..." the young mage replied, trying to at least sit up, yet lost a lot of strength just defending herself.

"Hang on, there. You better not move around that much, sweetie. You're in real pain. By the way, what's a pretty girl like you doing around here, if you don't mind me asking?" she asked.

"_Sweetie? Pretty girl? Is she trying to hit on me or something?"_ Thoughts were racing in Brittany's head as to her heroine's sexual orientation. "I'm trying to find a missing...Associate from the Skingrad Mages Guild..." she replied.

She smirked. "You're a mage? Kinda figured that from the way you didn't wear any armor...heheh..."

Great, just what she needed. Another warrior-type person about to poke fun at her for being a mage. Just great...

"Can you just grab me a healing potion from my bag?" Brittany asked her, pointing with her eyes towards her satchel, just out of her reach.

"Sure thing, girl." The Imperial got up, walked around her and picked up the bag, starting to fish through it. "You said a healing potion, right?"

"Yes, the pinkish bottle with a heart-sticker on it. That one."

"Alright," she replied, searching for such a bottle. It lead to her rummaging everywhere; it was a huge bag, I can't believe how many things can fit in it! "Aha! I found it!"

Her hand emerged to reveal the sought after elixir. Dropping the bag next to Brittany, she opened the bottle while she knelt down next to her again. "Alright, let me help ya with this," she insisted, propping up her head and feeding her the contents of the bottle.

With each passing gulp she took, she could feel the warmth of the concoction inside her body, the feeling of her arms coming back to her with renewed strength. She immediately sat up, letting out a sigh of relief. "Thanks for the help with those things..." she thanked.

"No problem. I was just about to head into that fiery gate right there until I saw you in trouble, hun," she replied, sending a cringing feeling to Brittany with that word 'hun'; she knew now of who this girl really is. "By the way, my name's Myna Quen, an Imperial ranger. What's your name?"

Brittany looked at her, turning her head towards the Myna, "I'm Brittany Marrison, a Nord mage from Morrowind."

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Brit. I guess I'll catch up with you some other time. I have gates to close and an amulet to recover. See ya, love," she replied, coming close and placing a soft kiss on the mage's cheek, then running off into the accursed portal.

Immediately wiping off the kiss as she ran off, she glared angrily at the portal. "I can't believe she did that! What a...what a...whatever!!"

Words jumbled up inside her head; her reaction resulted to a loss of enunciation. Getting back up and collecting her things, she took several passing glances at the fallen scamps, each of which with at least one arrow of ebony pierced into the body. "Well, she may be a weird girl, but she's one great shot..."

Now, she has finally achieved all her necessary recommendations; finally, it was off to the Arcane University, where she dreamed of become a part of even before she moved with her family from Morrowind. Gazing into the slow-flowing river beneath her, she reminisced over the past few weeks leading up to this point. Obtaining the Finger of the Mountain spell while in Chorrol, her encounter with a rouge mage, killing off travelers near Anvil, and a bunch more. "Brittany, dear?" Kud-Ei called to her near the entrance to the Bravil Mage's Guild.

Brittany looked over to her shoulder and walked up to her. "Yes, Guildmaster Kud-Ei? Something wrong?"

The Argonian shook her head. "No, no, nothing is wrong, dear child. We were just beginning to think you'd already run off without saying goodbye."

"Of course I wouldn't do that! We're all like family, and I can't leave my family without letting them know first!" she replied with a grin.

"Well, I'm grateful to hear that, dear. Are you ready to begin your studies at the Arcane University?"

"Most definitely!" she said, determinedly, walking inside the hall. The Bravil Mage's Guild hall was three stories tall; the main level consisting of the dining room, pantry, and alchemy lab, the second floor housed all the guild mates' quarters, while the top floor was Kud-Ei's private quarters. Coming to the second floor, she walked straight ahead into her room, a nicely-spaced bedroom with a few desks, which was cluttered with spell scrolls, some chests to place her equipment, and a twin-size bed with forest green sheets and two white pillows, one belonging to the guild and the other she kept close to her. While she was packing up all her things, when she grabbed for her pillow on the bed, it wasn't there! Looking up from her bag, she scanned the bed; probably, it fell off the side next to the wall? Jumping onto the bed, she looked over the side near the wall. _"Nope...not here either...Where could it be?!"_

She threw the sheets off the bed; nothing there, also! Her search turned frantic. Looking under the bed, inside the chests, everywhere in her room. There was no sign of it! _"That was my favorite pillow...I had something in there...now it's gone..."_ she whispered to herself, dropping to her knees next to the bed and dropping her head into the mattress, crying.

Another mage overheard her sobs and walked into her room. "Brittany? What's going on? Something happen?" she asked her, coming down to her, placing an arm of comfort around her.

"I can't find my pillow...It was here a second ago and now its gone...I can't find it, Ardaline..." she sobbed.

"Oh, that? I'm sorry, Brittany...I thought it was one the guild had extras of...I didn't know it was yours..." Ardaline confessed. "I swear I didn't know it was yours..."

Brittany looked up at her, eyes pink from her tears. "You have it?! Where is it?" She grasped Ardaline's shoulders, hoping she'll give an answer, one that'll make finding her pillow easy.

"It's just in my room...heheh...you can let go of me now..." she replied with an uneasy chuckle.

Brittany did as she said, getting up to her feet and, with Ardaline walking out of her room, followed suit. "Anyway, why is it so important to you? It's just an ordinary pillow, nothing special."

"It's special to me! I've had it since I left Morrowind. Still soft as ever..." the Nord mage admitted, looking up towards the right, arms folded.

"What was so special about it in Morrowind?"

"That's none of your business! It's my special pillow and that's it!" she replied, her tone raising a bit to reveal her uneasiness.

"Ok, ok, fine...No need to get a temper tantrum...sheesh..."

They both walked into Ardaline's room, which was down the hall and being the second door to the right. Brittany walked in and noticed her own pillow laying on top of another on her bed; she could determine it from an very faint mark on the case in a shape of a kiss. Seemed as though she had a pretty romantic dream some night. Rushing inside, she grabbed it and embraced it tightly. _"I found it...Thank goodness..."_ she thought, relieved to know it was in her possession again.

Thanking Ardaline and giving her a hug goodbye, she ran back into her room and resumed packing, placing her pillow in last. Sporting her quilted doublet and tan linen dress, she slipped on her leather shoes; it was going to be a long trip to the Imperial City. Picking up her satchel, she walked downstairs and gave one last hug towards her guildmaster. "I promise to come back soon, Kud-Ei, as soon as I finish my studies!" Brittany told her.

"Please do, dear child. You know I get worried about you. Have fun and good luck."

"I will." With that, Brittany headed out the front door, coming out into the brisk mid-morning air of Bravil. She looked into a small pouch of her satchel and counted up some gold. "Hm...let's see...This should get me enough for a nice room at an inn along the way..." she said to herself, finally closing it and walking up to the main gate to the north. Two guards walked towards the large booming door and opened it for her. "Thank you for staying with us in Bravil, ma'am," one guard said, only to be met with a nod. Finally out of the city, crossing the old, rackety bridge, she kept walking another half-mile until she stopped and pulled out her pillow from her bag. Rummaging her hand inside the pillowcase, she felt something small and solid. Taking it out slowly, her hand reveal a small jade emerald ring. _"Phew...It's still here...The ring I'll give to my husband-to-be..."_ she thought, gently kissing it and replacing it back into the pillowcase.

Replacing her pillow, she continued onto her trek to the Imperial City, and to start on her way to becoming the best Nord mage she always dreamed of being.

**A/N: Here's Brittany Marrison, everyone. She's one of four characters I have on the game, each of them having their own story. What's gonna be nifty is that all four stories will mesh together. Like how Myna Quen's story got meshed into this one. This one's gonna be fun.**

**A/N part 2: Oh yeah, about this prologue. Almost everyone has their favorite pillow. They're very personal objects, as one cartoonist brought out. Don't you all have one? I know I do.**

**A/N part 3: Oblivion owned by Bethesda Softworks; Brittany Marrison & Myna Quen owned by me, ShadowBasher**


	2. Myna, Hero or Assassin?

After a few hours along the trail, the clouds above her seemed to darken a bit, the breeze gently beginning to pick up. "Oh man...Looks like it's about to rain...Hope the Nine there's an inn not too far away..." Brittany mused under her breath, quickening her pace.

She had her left arm gripped by her right hand. While she passed Robber's Glen Cave, a little while back on the trail, she was ambushed by a few goblins, each sporting iron war axes and very hot tempers. It made her remember the conflict with the scamps back near Skingrad. It was horrifying enough to get a first-hand experience. However, this time, she was a bit more prepared. As they charged towards her, she whispered a slight incantation, while her arms began sparking with electricity, eyes turning bright. A heavy lightning blast engulfed the head goblin, while the other took advantage of an opening and drove its ax into Brittany's left arm, resulting into a massive gash that she couldn't focus onto until the goblin was dealt with. Staring down the creature, her right hand began glowing with an eerie greenish glow. Just as soon as the goblin lunged towards her, she released her nifty targeted Paralysis spell, stopping the foul creature in its tracks. The spell would last for about a half-hour, more than enough time to put it down. This time, she revealed a sly grin; she had an idea for what to do with this thing. _"Maybe I can use this spell this time...Never tried it out before...Been meaning to since I made it myself..."_ she thought.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated and focused her diction at saying her newly-made spell. _"May the burning bolts of bitter cold flow through thy veins...Lend me your natural power...To lay waste the foul and disgusting animal that desecrates the holy planet..."_

Soon enough, her hands glowed, but it was odd. First, they began steaming, like she was preparing her spell of fire, then her hands froze. The astonishing part about it was that her hands were still spewing out steam. Dry ice, maybe? Suddenly, lightning bolts sparked from the frozen flesh! What the heck was this?! _"Vengeance of the Atronach!"_ she finished, then gripping the goblin's throat, sending fire, ice, and electricity through its system. It shrieked in terror, but soon gave way to expiration as soon as she released her grip. The charged air around her made parts of her loose bangs rise steadily, yet she brushed them back down. She looked back down at her wound, covered it with her opposite hand, and spewed an dense "Heal Wound" spell, closing the gash and erasing the scar. However, the ache from the impact still persisted. Still, it wasn't much to become a nuisance. So she continued on.

Now, an hour after her goblin encounter, a storm began to roll in, coming from the south. Running as fast as she could, she spotted an inn just ahead. The clouds haven't reached this far, yet, so she slowed her speed to a walk. Coming onto the property, she looked at the sign that hung near the front entrance. "Inn of Ill Omen? Well...That's a pretty weird name. Who would name an inn like that?" she said to herself, coming into the building. She managed to get in a few step before an Imperial guard stood in front of her, his palm outstretched and facing her.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. The Inn of Ill Omen is closed for business until the investigation is complete," he told her, lowering his hand.

Brittany looked puzzled. "Investigation? What happened here?"

The guard sighed. "Apparently, a guest in this inn has been murdered by the name Rufio two days ago. Manheim, the innkeeper, said he's been staying down there for weeks on end, but he always paid rent. There was a peculiar gash on the man's neck and a well-placed ebony arrow into the heart. He did mention that there was a certain young woman around your age with an ebony bow that came in before he knew of Rufio's murder."

"_Ebony bow? Ebony arrow?_" Her thoughts began racing through her head. "My age?"

The guard nodded. "She was about...yea high..." he leveled one of his hands a little above Brittany's head. "...had blue eyes and very bright pink or violet long hair."

Instantly, a thought entered her mind, flashing back towards her encounter with the scamps. She remembered the Ranger who saved her from those wretched creatures. She also recalled about her sexual preference, which made her shudder again. _"Could it be? That girl, Myna, killed someone? Seems like it, but aside from her lesbian-like personality, I don't think she would be the type to kill someone unless there was good reason to..."_ Brittany reflected.

"Ma'am? Ma'am...Are you alright?" he asked, seeming to think Brittany was in a trance.

She blinked and looked back at him. "I'm fine..."

He looked at her, studying her facial features. Somehow, she was acting a bit suspicious. "You know this girl?"

The mage quickly shook her head. "No, not at all! Besides, there may be tons of girls my age with that kind of hair wielding weapons like that."

"That's true but that's the only lead we have right now...The Imperial Watch is scouting all of Cyrodiil for any whereabouts of the killer. If you see anything that may help, notify one of us immediately, understand?"

She replied with a nod, then looking back at the guard. "Excuse me. If this inn is closed for now, where's the nearest inn from here?"

The guardsman took her back out the front entrance and glanced towards the north. "Keep heading north on the brick path until you come to a fork. Take a left and Faregyl Inn will be just down the end of the path. Won't take more than fifteen minutes to get there."

"Ok, thanks!" she replied, continuing onto her journey to the next inn.

"Remember to look out for the killer!" the guard called back, then walking back inside.

On her way there, she kept wondering about the details the guard told to her. The description sounded closely like Myna, but it seemed not enough. There could be others that look just like her, maybe an exact twin sister, perhaps? Still, she couldn't rule out if Myna was actually a part of the killing. _"She seemed so sweet and caring. Crazy, too. Also weird. And strange. Yeah, it could've been her..."_ she thought.

Then hearing about the ebony bow-and-arrow, it seemed that any doubt she could have couldn't come against that fact. Unless Myna may have switched her set to maybe glass or daedric, it looked obvious that the leads point to her.

Just as the guard predicted, Brittany made it to the next inn within fifteen minutes. Walking into the building, rain lightly fell from the heavens. _"Phew...I made it just in time...Just have to wait until it stops..."_

Coming up to the front desk, there sat a tall female Khajiit, with her nose in a book called Thief of Virtue. Brittany took a look at the title and her eyes widen in amazement. "That's a really good book there," she said, surprised she let that slip out.

The feline perked her ears up, looking up from her reading and noticing Brittany across the desk. She smiled brightly. "Why, yes it is. This is my third time reading it; it's quite fascinating! However, I suppose you're here to check into one of our rooms, right?"

"Well, yes...I didn't want to disturb you reading, though. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, my dear. We have one room available here in Faregyl Inn. Ever since the Inn of Ill Omen was closed, I've been getting a lot of business. However, I shouldn't really be joyous for that, since someone did die there. Anyway, it'll be ten gold a night if you wish to take it."

Brittany nodded, handing her the paying for the night. "Has anything like that happened before around these parts?"

"Around here? No. This was surprising to hear! Especially with the Imperial Watch around, it seemed unheard of!"

Knowing of it being a rare occasion for a murder softened her nerves, but she still knew it could happen at anytime. "Well, I must not hold you up. You do look rather exhausted from wherever you came from, so here's your room key. Just up the stairs and it will be the last door to your right," the innkeeper told her, handing her the key.

Brittany took it from her hands and nodded, "Thank you. Oh, and by the way, I didn't get to catch your name."

"This one's name is Abhuki. And yours?" she asked.

"I'm Brittany. It was nice meeting you."

Abhuki only nodded and returned to her book as Brittany headed up to her room.

So far, about another few hours pass, changing from day to night, and the storm hasn't eased off; the rain seemed to pound against the window to her room, keeping her up a bit. "This is really cutting into my travel time to get to the Imperial City...Oh, I hope it won't rain tomorrow..." she mumbled to herself.

Earlier she was downstairs and partaking of some grilled venison and potatoes mashed into a smooth side dish. Abhuki joined up with her and spent some extra time getting to know each other while drinking the wine that was provided. Brittany learned much about Abhuki during that time, how she managed to make a living here in Cyrodiil while escaping a ruthless clan in Morrowind. "I barely made it out alive, but my brothers weren't so lucky..." Abhuki related.

"Was it just only you?"

"I was all that was left. We didn't know why they were coming to kill us. We had nothing against anyone. We were able to get along with everyone. It's just mind-boggling..."

Brittany lowered her eyes in sadness. "Who were those people that sought your death?"

"They called themselves the Dark Brotherhood...I don't really know much about them other than they're just a band of ruthless killing machines...Regular people who have no emotion towards the value of life..."

"_Dark Brotherhood...The name seems familiar like I've seen it around here in Cyrodiil..."_ Brittany thought. She heard many reports about it while in Morrowind herself, but hasn't seen much of them around here.

"They say that when you murder someone, they come to you while you sleep. It's a way how they recruit new members into they organization..." the Khajiit said to her.

"That's pretty creepy, don't you think? I mean, what if you're really indecent and that happened?" Brittany joked, hoping to get a chuckle from Abhuki, in which she did.

"Well, let's just hope not."

Washing up and getting ready for bed, she thought for a moment about the Dark Brotherhood. "Could it be their doing at the Inn of Ill Omen?" she mumbled. "It does seem pretty heartless to gash someone's throat _and_ shoot an arrow into their head. Either one would've killed him..."

Slightly feeling uneasy, she placed a lock spell on her door, one very difficult to pick. That should keep out anyone who may try to kill her if they tried. However, she knew that all locks are able to be picked, but this one may give her time to ready a defense for when someone like that happens. Dressing out of her travel apparel, she slipped into her light blue nightgown with a pink-frilled trim at the bottom of her dress. Her room was nicely spaced, with a chest in front of her queen bed, where she placed her satchel and a four-drawer dresser where her travel clothes for tomorrow was placed. Still, the uneasiness of the air lingered around her. _"Was it pure coincidence...or are the Dark Brotherhood here, too..."_

Blowing out her candlelight, she sat on the side of her bed, closest towards the door. The rain continued to pour outside, banging against the roof and windowpane. She was still able to see a little bit around her; there was a faint light from the outside. Everyone else in the inn turned in for the night, and she was still up. "I just hope that they're only in Morrowind...Just in Morrowind..." she continued to herself, stifling a yawn at the same time.

Her bed felt soft, and as soon as her head hit two down-filled pillows on her side of the bed, she instantly fell asleep. Her favorite one was still in her satchel. Taking one from the other side, she cuddled against it, snuggling into the other two, and fell into a deep sleep, slightly and silently snoring into it. She needed all the comfort she could get tonight to make for herself re-energized.

During the course of the evening, as she slept soundly, two figures sneak cautiously around Faregyl Inn. Each were fitted in armor enchanted for the budding stealth-minded individual in a way that befitted female wearers. Both girls had hoods concealing their eyes; only their mouths were visible. "This'll be fun. What a way to begin some time off away from the Sanctuary, eh Aurora?" one of the girls mentioned to her partner.

"Well, I was thinking more along the lines of the Arcane University, myself, but this'll have to do. They did say that once Rufio was killed, many are staying here in this inn. Perfect for pillaging and satisfying our Lord, Sithis, don't you think Myna?" Aurora said.

Myna only nodded, silently opening the door into the inn. The lights were blown out, so it made it real easy for them to come in and do as they pleased. And the best part was, they'll do it all unnoticed by the Imperial Watch.

"It was all in a day's work...He was so easy to pick off...He didn't even make a fuss..." Myna whispered back, cautiously sneaking inside, scanning the floor for any bottles or glass shards that could've fallen. The slightest noise can attract one person, then it would lead to the entire place. "Aurora, look for the innkeeper. Most probably will be sleeping down here..." Myna whispered. "I'll go upstairs and check in on the guests..."

Aurora nodded her head.

Myna crept up the stairs as slow as she could, casting her handy "Life Detection" spell when she reached the hallway. She looked down towards the ground and noticed two cloud masses of pink, then slowly fade into one. _"Aurora took care of the innkeeper pretty quick,"_ she thought, then looking back up towards the rooms.

There were about four in total. Coming up to one, she inspected that there were two readings inside. _"This is gonna be tough...Maybe this one'll wait until Aurora comes up here to help me out."_

She went next door and noticed there was only one reading. She started to pick the lock, but it proved a bit difficult. However, she was good enough to try and pick any kind of lock without breaking her lockpicks. Seconds later, she could hear the tumblers of the lock rise and unlock the door. She grinned devilishly as she opened the door slowly. _"I love it how innkeepers always maintain their doors. They're sooo silent..."_

She crept in slowly. Looking around, Myna's eyes were caught onto a particular ebony longsword; she's a real sucker for ebony. Picking up the sword gently, she looked over it and felt the sharp sides of the blade. _"This has been kept in shape...That's good...I'll just take that off you..."_

Stuffing it into her satchel, she turned around to notice a female High Elf asleep on her side, her exposed back facing Myna. Myna looked at her hand and readied a Paralysis spell. She felt it would be better to use it as a "Touch" ability rather a "Target." Sneaking across the room to the bed, she took out her Blade of Woe in her other hand. She slipped her Paralysis hand under her head quickly and covered her mouth tightly. The High Elf reacted in shock, then tried to fight her off, yet the spell instantly affected her whole body. Myna sat her up on her bed, then came right behind her, and drove her blade through the girl's back, piercing the heart as well. Her "Life Detection" spell was still active and she could see the pink gradually fading away from her target's body. As soon as it wore off, she gently lay the body back on the bed, closing the eyelids and tucking her back in, providing the illusion she was still asleep. However, it would soon show she was killed, as the bedspread began turning crimson with the massive blood lost from inside her. Quickly, she swiped everything she could inside the room, still sneaking lowly so as to not make a sound. A few healing potions, some extra clothes that may not fit her, the ebony longsword, and tons of extra gold. _"Perfect..."_

She exited the room, closing the door behind her, then noticed Aurora coming up the stairs. _"Did you get anything down there?"_ Myna asked.

"_Nothing but food. I packed enough for both of us on the trip back to the Sanctuary."_

"_Good...Hey, can you give me a hand with this room here? There's two people inside and I thought it would be better to get them both at the same time,"_ Myna suggested, pointing towards the room.

Aurora nodded, turning towards the door. She didn't have much lockpicks, but she didn't mind. Instead, she used an "Open Lock" spell upon the door. The spell was bright, but it didn't seem to wake the occupants inside. Myna sighed and looked over to her left at Aurora. _"One of these days, you have to teach me that spell..."_

"_Sometime later when we get back to Cheydinhal. First we have to take care of this..."_ Aurora told her, creeping inside the room with Myna behind her.

Sure enough, there were two people inside, one male Imperial and one female Redguard. _"Seems as though they were planning to spend their honeymoon here..."_ Aurora thought, glancing at the two cuddled together in their sleep, noticing the rings around their fingers.

"_Paralyze and kill technique?"_ Myna suggested.

"_Works every time, so I see why not?"_ Aurora replied, coming to the Imperial, while Myna came towards the Redguard.

Both readying Paralysis spells in their hands, and having blades in the other, they silently counted together to three. Once they hit three, they flowed like water, cupping their target's mouths with Paralysis, sitting them up and applying the blade to seal the deal. Then, too, once the pink wore off their life, they decorated their bodies in a way that would befit a married couple in bed, then covered them with the comforter of the bed. Since the person next door was dead, both girls were able to get away with making only light noise as they rummaged throughout the room. Not much was inside but a few pairs of clothing and Soul Gems, in which Aurora gladly took. However, Myna stumbled upon the wedding dowry of about 1,125 gold, so she swiped that and placed it within her satchel; she was going to split it later with Aurora when they were done here. They both came out of the room and closed the door behind them, locking it again. _"Alright, there's two more rooms left. You get the next one, while I'll go and get the last door, alright?"_ Myna planned out.

"_That'll be good. There's only one person in each room. It'll be easier."_

Myna nodded and came to the last door. She took a glance to her right to see Aurora swiftly coming inside the room next door. Myna began picking through the lock, but it felt odd. This one was a lot tougher. Then, she noticed there was a magical enchantment, then tried harder. A few minutes passed and she finally managed to open the door. Opening it slowly, she crept in and noticed Brittany outstretched on the bed, blanket bunched up against the foot board and a few pillows on the ground. Her snoring was a bit louder, which made it less of a pain for Myna to come up to her and take her out. This time, she crept to the back corner and got out her ebony bow. She figured that since she saved Brittany using her Ranger like abilities, it would be ironic to die by it as well. Readying the arrow in her hand, she pulled back on the string. However, the creak the bow made was enough to wake Brittany quite a bit, and she quickly enchanted a Flash spell. Hiding her face under pillow, she threw up the spell that engulfed the entire room with a painful flash of light. Myna's eyes were affected and stunned her quite a bit, trying to figure out what was going on, until she was met with a Paralysis spell from Brittany. Getting out of bed, she rushed over to the girl and quickly revealed her face from the hood. "Myna?! What are you doing here?!"

"Doing what I do best, sweetie. I have a thirst to kill. And what better way to satisfy it than by becoming one of the Dark Brotherhood," Myna told her, her hair a mess and draping all over her face.

"_Dark Brotherhood?! So they're here, too?!"_ Brittany thought, then she turned her attention towards Abhuki. "What happened to Abhuki?! What did you do to the innkeeper?!"

"Oh, that girl? Probably off to Oblivion by now. My friend took care of her."

Brittany felt her heart sink, as a few tears flowed from her eyes. "Why are you doing this, Myna?! Why?! You're the Champion of Cyrodiil!! Why?!"

"As I told you, I have a thirst for blood and I have to quench it!" Myna replied, feeling the spell wear off and kicked Brittany off of her.

Brittany skidded on the floor, and encased herself with a fire shield as soon as Myna fired a "Heat Blast" spell. Using her telekinesis, Brittany locked onto an empty drawer of the dresser and shot that straight into Myna, erupting in shards of wood due to the impact. It left Myna dazed and gave Brittany enough time to use her "Vengeance of the Atronach" spell on her. Grabbing her throat, the spell seeped into Myna's system and induced tremendous amounts of pain. Brittany let go, and Myna ran out of her room, with Aurora waiting for her downstairs. "Myna? What's up? You ok?" Aurora asked as Myna was coughing up a storm, a few trickles of blood dropping from her jaw.

"We gotta get out of here! If there's one thing I hate more in this Nine-forsaken world, its mages with enough magic to kill me four times! She's tough! She may be following!"

Myna ran towards the entrance quickly, with Aurora following her, confused. Brittany ran downstairs as soon as they exited and stayed down there. She was panting heavily. Using so many spells in such a short time takes a lot out of her. Her focus turned back to Abhuki, and she ran around the front desk. She was met with a disgusting sight. There were many cuts onto her body. Many, many deep cuts! _"She must've put up an enduring fight to her death with Myna's friend..."_ Brittany uttered, holding back a few tears.

She only knew her for a few hours, but it was hard either way to lose someone you just got to know. It was just enough to gross her out, but she ran back upstairs, finally breaking down near the hallway. Now that she realized that the Dark Brotherhood are here, she felt a lot more unsafe in this place. However, she was determined to ward them off. Then came to Myna. She was the Champion of Cyrodiil. She single-handedly fought off the mad rush of daedric minions and creatures, the dreaded Siege Engine coming to Bruma, and helped Martin Septim, the hereditary heir to the throne, to victory against Mehrunes Dagon. She was a hero to all. Now to see her turn to a life of blood lust, she now became a traitorous blood-guilty con, first with Abhuki, then with all of Cyrodiil. Brittany managed to stand back up and walk up to her room, casting her "Life Detection" spell and noticing all the rooms are lifeless. _"They must've gotten to them, too...So heartless..."_

She returned to her room, locking and barricading the door with her dresser. She lain on her bed against her stomach. The floor was littered with so many wood splinters from what used to be a drawer from the dresser. Now, instead of her dreams filling her with happiness, it was empty. Nothing could come to vision. She got up again, picked up her fallen pillows and piled them on her side of the bed, falling on top of them and covering herself with her blanket. Hopefully, it'll be better once the sun rose up. But not even that would never seal the internal wound of losing someone you got to know in so little time. She gave way to tears once more, face buried into her pillows, and loudly cried herself to sleep. What was creepy was that her crying echoed around her room, and then to others, and finally within the whole building. It was empty, like the hearts who came and quenched their lust for blood.

End of Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok, first off, "Vengeance of the Atronach" was a "Touch" spell I made for Brittany. 25 damage of Fire, 25 damage of Frost, and 25 damage of Shock. It does come in handy when you need it the most. Secondly, who wouldn't of thought of that for Telekinesis? That's what it's supposed to be, right? So this was implemented for Brittany. Thirdly, this felt really good to actually write this long of a chapter. Hopefully you guys are enjoying it as much as I am. Don't worry, the really good stuff (getting to Necromancy and all that) is coming up. Just needed something to build.**

**A/N 2: Oblivion owns everything, Myna and Brittany are mine, and Aurora belongs to my friend Ty.**


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